1. Field
The present disclosure relates generally to systems and methods for lighting the interior of an aircraft. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to providing and controlling lighting on the flight deck of an aircraft to provide information to the flight crew on the status of the aircraft and for controlling the aircraft.
2. Background
A flight deck is the area on an aircraft from which a pilot and other flight crew members control the aircraft. The flight deck is usually located near the front of an aircraft. The flight deck also may be referred to as the cockpit. In addition to a pilot, the flight crew on the flight deck during operation of the aircraft may include, for example, a copilot, a navigator, or other personnel or combinations of personnel.
The flight deck of an aircraft includes the instruments and controls that enable the flight crew to operate the aircraft. For example, the flight deck may include a number of displays. Various types of information may be displayed on the flight deck displays for use by the flight crew to operate the aircraft. For example, the information displayed on the various flight deck displays may indicate the status of various systems on the aircraft. The flight crew may operate the controls on the flight deck to control the operation of the various systems on the aircraft in response to the information displayed on the various flight deck displays.
The flight crew may monitor all of the information displayed on all of the flight deck displays during operation of the aircraft. It may be desirable that the attention of the flight crew is focused on particular displays on the flight deck when the information being presented on such displays is of particular importance for effective operation of the aircraft. At the same time, however, it may be desirable that the flight crew also is aware of changes in the information displayed on other displays on the flight deck. For example, it may be desirable that the attention of the flight crew may be shifted to such other displays when the information being presented on such other displays becomes more important for effective operation of the aircraft.
It also may be desirable that the attention of the flight crew may be drawn to particular controls on the flight deck that may be operated by the flight crew to control particular systems on the aircraft when the control of such systems is of particular importance for effective operation of the aircraft. For example, it may be desirable that the flight crew operates particular controls on the flight deck in a particular way to control the status of various systems on the aircraft in an effective manner.
Accordingly, it would be beneficial to have a method and apparatus that takes into account one or more of the issues discussed above as well as possibly other issues.